Oyster and clam opener



De c. 3, 1929. w, C 1,737,626

OYSTER AND CLAM OPENER I Filed Aug. 8, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet l Inventor":Will am FVanace,

S Attorngg.

. Dee. 3, 1929.

w. P. "vANAcE I OYSTER AND CLAM OPENER Filed Aug. 8} 1928 2,Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor:

W|Hxjam P Vanace, b W G "H s ALt orru e Patented Dec. 3, 1929 STATESPATENT FFEQ OYSTER AND CLAM OPENER Continuation of application SerialNo. 227,991, filed October 22, 1927. This application filed August 8,

This application is a continuation of my application Serial No. 227,991,filed October 22, 1927.

The invention relates to a machine for opening bivalve shell fish, suchas oysters and clams or the like.

In accordance with ordinary practice of long standing, the opening ofbivalve shell food preparatory to serving is accomplished almostentirely by manual force, the shucker grasping the oyster or clam in onehand and forcefully manipulating a knife between the two half shellswith the other hand so as to sever the eye, or great muscle, by whichthe meat is attached thereto. his is not easily accomplished due to thestrong muscular effort of the bivalve to maintain the shells closed.Thus in restaurants and the like where such shell food is served,specially skilled operators are required to do the opening or shuckingeffectively, as the slightest slip in holding either the bivalve shellor the knife will result in severe injury to the operators hand.

The objectof the present invention is to provide an improved machinewhereby the opening of bivalves such as oysters and clams, or the like,may be done rapidly and with practically no danger even by an unskilled30. operator.

in carrying the present invention into effeet a relatively movable backstop for supporting the bivalve shell and a knife for opening the shellare mounted in opposing spaced relation so that the bivalve may bepositioned against the back stop with the mouth of the shell in properalignment to engage with the knife. A rotatable operating memberarranged to be operated either by hand or by foot or by power devicesuch as a small electric motor is mechanically connected to press theback stop and knife together with a steady force ample to insert theknife readily between the half shells of the bivalve. After the knifehas penetrated to a suflicient depth between the shells of the bivalveaclutch mechanism is automatically brought into action by engagement of amovable clutch member with the edge of the shell; This clutch mechanismis arranged to con- Serial No. 298,243.

nect the shell opening knife so as to be rotated by the rotatableoperating member, thus severing the eye, or great muscle, of the bivalveand rendering the subsequent removal of the meat from the shell, asimple matter, easy of accomplishment.

The accompanying drawings illustrate a preferred form of oyster and clamopening machine embodying the invention, although the form disclosed inmy above mentioned application may be used advantageously. Fig. 1 is aperspective view of the machine with a bivalve in position to be openedthereby. Fig. 2 is aside View of the machine partly in section in orderto show more in 5 detail the arrangement of the operating mechanism.Fig. 3 is a detailed view of the slidable back stop for the bivalveshell. Figs. i and 5 are detailed viewsof the clutch element of therotatable knife chuck. Figs. 6, 7 and 8 show respectively a side planand end view of a particular form of knife suit able for opening clams.Figs. 9, 10 and 11 are similar views of a form of knife particularlysuitable for opening oysters. Fig. 7 12 is an end view of the machinewith certain parts broken away to reveal the meshing arrangement of theoperating gearing. Fig. 13 is a top sectional view of the machine alongthe line 13.13 of Fig. 12, with cerso tain parts omittee. Fig. 14illustrates the machine mounted on a table and arranged for foot pedaloperation, and Fig. 15 is a view of the machine arranged for motoroperation.

Referring to 1, the oyster and clam opening machine in the preferredform illustrated comprises a frame 10 formed of two parts removablysecured together and provided with suitable feet and a thumb screw 12adapted'for clamping the machine on the edge of a table 13 or otherconvenient support. The slidable back stop 14 and the relatively movableknife 15 are mounted in opposing spaced relation at one side of theframe 10 so as'topermit a bivalve 16 to be held against the back stopwith the mouth in position to engage with the knife when these parts arepressed together. The back stop preferably is formed with corrugated j17,'suitably fashioned to grip and securely hold the shell of thebivalve as indicated in Fig. 1 and is provided with a guide 18 having acylindrical opening 19 arranged to slide on the supporting rod 20extending from the frame 10. The corrugated jaws of the back stop 14 maybe formed with a yielding or resilient facing of rubber or othersuitable material in order to prevent chipping or breaking of the edgesof the shell if desired. Forward and backward movement of the back stop14 with respect to the knife 15 is obtained by means of the doublethreaded screw 21, one end of which is provided with right hand threads22 to engage with the cooperating threaded opening 23 formed in backstop 14 and the other end of which is provided with left-hand threads 24to engage with a corresponding threaded openin 25 formed in the boss 26extending from frame 10. The detailed construction of the back stop 14is clearly shown in Fig. 3.

Rotation of the double threaded screw 21 is obtained by means of thespur gear 27 which is mounted between bearing shoulders 28 formed on theinside of the two part frame 10. Gear 27 rides axially upon the screw21, and as more clearly shown in Fig. 12, the gear carries a key 29which slides in the keyway 30 formed in screw 21 and in this waytransmits to the screw 21 the rotary movement imparted to gear 27through the cooperating amplifying gears 31, 32, and 33 upon rotation ofthe operating handle 34. The hub 35 of handle 34 is provided withsplines as shown in Fig. 1.3, so as to engage with cooperating keywaysin the gear 31 in a number of different operating relations. Thusoscillation of the operating handle 34 through substantially a half turnproduces rapid turning of the double screw 21 to move the back stoptoward and away from the knife 15.

The knife 15 is detachably mounted in the slotted chuck 36 by theattaching screw 37. This permits either the clam opening type of knifeillustrated in Figs. 6, 7 and 8 or the oyster opening type of knifeshown in Figs. 10 and 11 or other suitable form of knife to be used inaccordance with the particular work to be done. It will be observed thatin each form of knife the lower side is made flat and a sloping ridge orshoulder 15 is formed on the other side. This ridge or shoulder extendsfrom the point of the knife with a gradually increasing height so as toact as a wedge in opening the shell of the bivalve. Referring toFigs. 2,4, 5 and 13, it will be seen that the chuck 36 comprises the rotatableshaft 38 loosely mounted in the bore of gear 39 with one end bearingagainst a thrust seat in the frame 10, and carrying the knife 15 securedin a slot in the other end thereof together with the slotted clutchelement 40 which loosely surrounds shaft 38 and serves to connect theknife to be rotated by the gear 39 after it has penetrated the mouth ofthe bivalve. The hub of gear 39 rides in suitable bearings provided inthe two parts of frame 10 and this gear is in mesh with gear 33 so as tobe set into rapid rotation whenever the handle 34 is operated. It willbe observed that one hub of gear 39 is cut away to form shoulders 41with which the cooperating shoulders 42 formed on the clutch element 40may engage when this clutch element is automatically shifted axiallyalong the shaft 38 by engagement with the shell of thebivalve therewithin the manner described more fully hereinafter.

The sides of the large slot 43 formed in the tapering end of clutchelement 40 slidably engage with the flat shank of knife 15 and thusprovide a strong and serviceable connection for rotating the knife.Likewise, the abutting engagement of the back of the knife with thebottom of the slot in shaft 38 which in turn bears directly againstframe 10 provides strong and serviceable support for taking up the endthrust produced when the knife is being forced between the half shellsof the bivalve. The clutch element 40 is normally maintained disengagedby the spring 44. Axial movement of clutch 40 along shaft 38 by thespring 44 is limited by the screw 45 which engages withthe side of thegroove 46 formed in the clutch element. The periphery f the clutchelement 40 is knurled as inclicated in the drawing to facilitate manualadjustment of the angular position of knife 15 into proper alignmentwith the mouth of the bivalve as it rests against the back stop 14.

In operation, the machine is clamped on the edge of a table or othersuitable support as shown in Fig. 1 and the operator places the shell ofthe bivalve against the back stop 14 with one hand and adjusts the knife15 and operates the handle 34 with the other. The narrow form of theback stop readily permits the bivalve to be positioned in the corrugatedjaws thereof with the mouth of the bivalve extending toward the knife 15which as previously pointed out maybe properly adjusted by rotating theknurled chuck 3G to bring the knifeinto substantial alignment with themouth of the bivalve. Upon rotating the handle 34, the double threadedscrew 21 is driven rapidly by means of the multiplying gearing toadvance the back stop and press the bivalve against the knife with astrong and steady force. The knife does not rotate during this operationdue to the fact that the clutch 40 is no 'mally disconnected from thegear 39 by the spring 44.

In this mannerthe knife 15 is forced between the half shells of thebivalve, and ridge or shoulder 15 of tapering form as shown in Figs. 6to 11 serves to separate these parts against the muscular resistance ofthe bivalve. hen the knife has penetrated into the mouth of the bivalvesufficiently to bring the edge of the lower half shell against thetapering end of the clutch element 40, further advancement of back stop14 serves to shift the clutch element into engagement with the gear 39.This connects the knife 15 to be rotated quickly by the gear 39 so as tosever the eye, or great muscle, of the bivalve. Thus it will be seenthat the operation of the clutch is entirely automatic and is arrangedto produce a quick relative rotational movement between the knife 15 andthe back stop 14 after a sulficient relative linear movementtherebetween has taken place to insert the knife the proper distanceinto the mouth of the bivalve.

After rotation of the knife to sever the eye of the bivalve, the handle84 is returned to its initial position thereby rotating the screw 21 inthe reverse direction and separating the back stop from the knife intoposition for receiving the next bivalve. With the eye, or great muscle,of the bivalve severed from the shell the meat may easily be removedpreparatory to serving by using the knife 15 or by means of an ordinaryknife.

After the penetration of the knife 15 into the mouth of the bivalve isonce started, the latter is firmly held between the back stop and theknife. Hence, the operators hand may be entiely removed from the backstop 14 to avoid all danger of being cut by the knife. Moreover, thesteady and accurately controlled force exerted upon the back stop 14 bythe double threaded screw and operating mechanism therefor enables theproper positioning of the bivalve and the knife easily to be effected.The rapidity with which the shell opening operation is accomplisheddepends entirely upon the speed of operating the handle 34.

If desired the machine may be arranged for foot pedal operation asillustrated in Fig. 14. In this case the handle 34 is replaced by alever arm which is connected through the link 51 to the p oted footpedal 52. A spring 53 is provided for returning the lever arm to itsinitial position. This arrangement enables more rapid work to be done asboth hands of the operator are available for handling the bivalves andadjusting the knife.

Likewise, the machine may be arranged for operation by power as shown inFig. 15, the electric motor 54 serving to oscillate lever arm 50 throughthe worm gearing 55 and pitman arm 56. This power driving arrangementpermits very rapid opening of the bivalves as the back stop isperiodically moved backward and forward with respect to the knife by theelectric motor.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates, is:

1. A bivalve shell fish opener comprising a relatively movable back stopand knife mounted in opposing relation, and operating mechanism forpressing the back stop and knife together and having an automaticclutch" associated therewith for effecting relative rotation of theknifewith respect to they back stop after penetration'of the knife betweenthe half shells of the bivalve;

2. A: bivalve shell fish opener comprising a relatively movable backstop and knife mounted in opposingspacedrelation, mechanism foreffecting relative linear movementof the back stop and knife, mechanismfor effecting-relative rotational'movement of the back stop and knife,and a common operating member for said mechanisms.

3. A bivalve shell fish opener comprising a rotatably supported knife, amovable back stop for the bivalve in opposing spaced relation with theknife, operating means for advancing the back stop to press the bivalveagainst the knife, and means for connecting the knife to be rotated bysaid operating means after a predetermined penetration of the knifebetween the half shells of the bivalve.

4. A bivalve shell fish opener comprising a movable back stop forholding the shell of the bivalve, a knife rotatably mounted in opposingspaced relation therewith, and operating mechanism for advancing theback stop to force the knife between the lips of the bivalve and havingan automatic clutch cooperating with the shell. of the bivalve foreffecting relative rotation of the knife to sever the eye of the bivalveafter penetration of the knife into the mouth thereof.

5. A bivalve shell fish opener comprising a frame, a knife supportingmember rotatably mounted therein, a knife detachably secured to saidsupporting member, a movable back stop mounted on said frame in opposingalignment with said knife, an operating member rotatably mounted in saidframe and mechanically connected to operate said back stop backward andforward with respect to the knife upon oscillation of the operatingmember, and a clutch mechanism for rotatably interconnecting said knifeand said operating member under certain conditions.

6. A bivalve shell fish opener comprising a back stop against which theshell may be manually held in one hand, a knife for penetrating themouth of the shell, mechanism for imparting relative linear and rotarymovement of the knife with respect to the back stop, and means forguiding the knife into the mouth of the shell during the relative linearmovement of the knife and the back stop.

7. A bivalve shell fish opener comprising a slidable back stop havingcorrugated jaws against which .the shell may be manually held in onehand, a knife rotatably mounted in the path of the back stop, means forrotatably adjusting the knife to penetrate the mouth of the shell, arotatable operating member mechanically connected to slide the back stopforward and back with respect to the knife upon oscillation of theoperating member, and a clutch mechanism automatically operable upon apredetermined penetration of the knife into the mouth of the shell forconnecting the knife to be rotated by the operating member and therebysever the eye of the bivalve from the shell.

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 3rd day of August1928.

WILLIAM P. VANACE.

